Disaster Preparedness for All: Resilience Starts at Home

A family game morning on what “ready” means in your own home — for heatwaves, flooding, and dry taps.

This event is planned to observe the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, 13 October.

Resilience Starts at Home — Tuesday 20 October, 10 am to 1 pm, Chromepet.

Why this, why now

Chennai knows all three. The heat of May, the water that rises every November, the summer the taps ran dry. Most of us learn what to do during a disaster, if we learn it at all. Very few of us have ever sat down as a household and asked what we would do before one.

The northeast monsoon is almost here. This year’s UN International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction carries a theme that fits a family better than any institution: Resilience Starts at Home. And 20 October is Vijayadashami — a day for beginning something new.

So we are beginning at the table, with a game.

Vijayadashami and the power of Shailaputri

In Hindu faith, Goddess Durga is revered as a symbol of power and strength, embodying the nine forms of Shakti (power) on the nine days of Holy Navaratri.

Each form represents distinct qualities and attributes that epitomise the essence of empowerment.

Interestingly, these nine powers of Durga can be metaphorically linked to urban development in an article written by Shri Hitesh Vaidya (Former Director, NIUA MoHUA, GoI) highlighting how the qualities of Durga can inspire and guide a holistic approach to city development.

Shailaputri, the power of resilience: Shailaputri, the daughter of the mountains. She represents the values such as resilience and determination.

In our workshop on Vijayadashami, we will play Master of Disaster board game, collectively reflect at the end of the workshop the metaphorical link between the power of Shailaputri and learn to strengthen our faculties to survive, cope with natural hazards, develop determination to help urban communities and nation build resilience to thrive in the future where disasters are going to be both high in magnitude and frequency.

How the morning runs

Through the morning, we will be thoughtfully guided to connect our three core faculties — Head, Heart and Hands — and to see how each of them contributes to building a resilient and harmonious society.

1. 10:00 am
   Preparation for focused & purposeful play · 15 min

   3 Omkaram, 3 Gayatri Mantra, 5 statements of self-affirmation of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, and a simple warm-up value game.

2. 10:15 am
   Play Master of Disaster · 75 min, including the briefing

   We play Master of Disaster together, parents and children around the same board. Developed by ASSIST Asia, it has reached hundreds of thousands of young people across the Philippines, Vietnam and India, and turns preparedness into something you practise rather than memorise.

3. 11:30 am
   Break · 15 min
4. 11:45 am
   From the game to the real world · 60 min

   Participants will be guided to conduct a collaborative counter-mapping exercise to reimagine the future of a resilient Chennai city from recurring urban floods, heat waves, and droughts.

5. 12:45 pm
   Reflection, survey, picture session and announcements · 15 min

Master of Disaster, by ASSIST Asia.

No prior knowledge needed. No screens. The game is the easy part; the conversation it opens is the point.

Who is playing with you

Dr Balaji Kalluri, founder of Bharat Play, is an urban scientist who grew up studying in Chennai — Anna University, then BITS Pilani, a PhD in Building Sciences from the National University of Singapore, and postdoctoral years in Europe. At FLAME University he teaches disaster literacy through play, and his students end the course by designing serious games of their own.

Pay from your heart

There is no fixed price. Contribute what feels right — for what you receive, and for the family who comes after you.

Come along

Twelve seats, and a game table only holds so many. Please tell us you are coming, and how many of you, so we can set the board.

Venue: Chromepet, Chennai. We share the address once you have RSVP’d.

Further reading

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